Zhu Yurou and Li Qiuchi headed for the lounge at the back.

Watching their figures disappear, Le Rong sensed something off and turned to Yuan Qi, asking, "That President Zhu—does she have some beef with Qiuchi?"

True, Li Qiuchi was known for her cold, distant demeanor and had offended many in the industry, but Le Rong hadn’t thought she’d tangled with Zhu Yurou before. She genuinely didn't know what might have gone on between them.

"Last Fashion Week, she framed Sister Qiuchi for stealing a necklace," Yuan Qi replied.

Le Rong stared at her, surprised. "Why didn’t you tell me about that?"

"I didn't get the chance. Who would've guessed we'd run into her today?" Yuan Qi clearly didn’t think much of Zhu Yurou.

"Sister Rong."

Le Rong turned at the sound of the voice and saw Lauren Shaw approaching.

"Miss Li, what brings you here too?" Le Rong asked in surprise.

"I’m here for the new product shoot," Lauren Shaw smiled. "What a coincidence—my shoot is here, so I thought I’d take a look around."

"Has Sister Qiuchi arrived?" Lauren Shaw craned her neck to look for Li Qiuchi.

Le Rong paused before answering, "President Zhu called her away."

"President Zhu..." Lauren Shaw’s eyes narrowed slightly. It was no secret that Zhu Yurou liked Bryce Shaw; under these circumstances, what good could come of her looking for Li Qiuchi?

In the lounge.

Zhu Yurou and Li Qiuchi sat facing each other. Li Qiuchi glanced at the time, her gaze cool, "If you’ve got something to say, get to the point. I don’t have much time."

Zhu Yurou stared her down for a long moment, then let out a short laugh. "You really are quite the beauty. No wonder you’ve got President Shen so spellbound."

Li Qiuchi knew Zhu Yurou just wanted to insult her, but she wasn’t fazed. "Thank you for the compliment, Miss Zhu. But if that’s all you called me here for, I’ll be going."

She had no intention of wasting time on useless chatter and stood up to leave.

Zhu Yurou’s eyes immediately darkened, her elegance vanished, replaced by a venomous jealousy.

"I know you seduced Bryce Shaw for money. Name your price. As long as you leave him, I’ll meet any demand you have," Zhu Yurou said coldly.

Li Qiuchi couldn’t help but laugh. "Do I look like I’m desperate for money to you?"

"If not, then what? Isn’t your goal to be a phoenix rising to the top? Let me tell you: you and Bryce Shaw—never going to happen."

"That’s not yours to decide. I won’t leave Bryce Shaw. Not in this lifetime—unless I’m dead." Li Qiuchi fixed her with a steely gaze.

Zhu Yurou just scoffed, as if she'd heard the funniest thing in the world. "That so? Well, I’ve heard your father’s a gambler. What do you think will happen to your career if that kind of dirt comes out?"

Li Qiuchi stared at her in disbelief. "You investigated me?"

Zhu Yurou shrugged, unconcerned. "You just have to ask around in your hometown... and I also heard that your father once tried to sell you to the village old bachelor—"

"Shut up!" Li Qiuchi’s voice was sharp as a knife. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her chest heaved with rage.

"What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve? Oh, I've heard so much more—want to hear it all?" Zhu Yurou was practically gleeful at Li Qiuchi’s anger, clearly relishing her supposed advantage.

Li Qiuchi stared at her, murderous fury in her reddened eyes.

Her mind drifted back to that year, when she was eighteen.

She had just received her college acceptance letter, only to return home and find out her father had arranged a marriage for her.

People in the village told her that her father had taken 5,000 yuan—selling her to the old bachelor from the same village.

When she refused, the man’s family forcibly took her home.

…

Those memories were always what she most wanted to forget, and now someone was treating them as a joke. It felt like someone had stabbed her heart over and over.

Helplessness flooded through her, making it hard to even breathe.

"So, if President Shen’s parents found out about all this, what do you think would happen? Or if Bryce Shaw himself found out—wouldn’t he look down on you?" Zhu Yurou sneered, her lips curled in a cruel smile.

"I told you to shut up!" Li Qiuchi clenched her fists, gritting her teeth, eyes burning as she advanced on Zhu Yurou.

But Zhu Yurou had no intention of stopping; on the contrary, her taunts only grew nastier, pushing Li Qiuchi to the edge—her eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

Knock, knock, knock! Someone was rapping on the lounge door.

"Qiuchi-jie, are you in there?" Lauren Shaw didn’t wait for an answer; she opened the door herself.

The moment the door opened, she sensed something was off. Li Qiuchi was hunched, fists clenched so tightly it seemed she was holding something back.

Zhu Yurou raised her chin haughtily. "What do you want?"

"I’m here to talk with Qiuchi-jie. Are you done here? If so, I’ll be taking her out for a bit."

Zhu Yurou, who had been so smug, now looked openly displeased at being interrupted.

Lauren Shaw stepped up beside her and shot her a warning glare. "Stop harassing her all the time. If anything happens to Qiuchi-jie, do you really think Second Brother will let you go? If you value your looks, you’d better behave yourself!"

Zhu Yurou was clearly brewing another retort, but Lauren Shaw ignored her completely, grabbing Li Qiuchi’s hand and leading her out.

Noticing something was wrong, Lauren Shaw looked at Li Qiuchi in concern.

"Qiuchi-jie, are you okay? What did Zhu Yurou say to you?"

Li Qiuchi seemed not to hear her—her whole body was shaking, like a frightened bird, making Lauren Shaw’s heart ache.

Lauren Shaw gently hugged her, patting her back, comforting her, "It’s all right now, all right? It’s just me, Lauren Shaw."

The sound of Lauren Shaw's voice finally brought Li Qiuchi back a little.

Feeling Lauren Shaw’s genuine care, tears finally streamed down Li Qiuchi’s face.

After crying for a while, she wiped her tears away.

Lauren Shaw didn’t ask what had happened in the lounge. Instead, she quietly handed her some tissues from her bag. "You’ve still got tears on your face—clean up a bit. Nobody should see you like this."

She guessed exactly what had happened; Zhu Yurou’s only purpose must have been to hurt Li Qiuchi and get under her skin.

Regaining her composure, Li Qiuchi pulled out her phone and called Le Rong.

"Sister Rong, I’m dropping out of the commercial... yes, I’ll pay the breach penalty. The rest is up to you..."

With everything sorted out, Li Qiuchi turned to Lauren Shaw. "Thank you, Shengsheng."

If Lauren Shaw hadn’t barged in just now, who knew what she might have done?

As for Zhu Yurou’s threats—she knew these secrets would come out one day. If Zhu Yurou thought she could use them for leverage, she was sorely mistaken. Li Qiuchi didn’t care in the slightest.